26 ways to prevent car theft in Mackay revealed

POLL: Car key safes, minimum jail sentences, working to pay back damage. What do you think is the best solution?

CAR THEFT: A Toyota LandCruiser stolen from the Touch Up Guys car yard in West Mackay.

After yet another thief stole a car from a Mount Pleasant home this week, we asked how you would curb the number of stolen cars in Mackay.

Here’s some of your suggestions. Take our poll to let us know what you think could work.

A teenage boy and an adult male were arrested at a home on English Street, South Mackay. The teen was arrested after a stolen car was discovered at the address.

1. Len Turvey: Make the parents and the child work to pay for the damage done. In some cases there may be too much money to pay back but if the work done benefits the victim, it might help.
2. Andy Roo Kevin: Buy a steering wheel lock, take all your valuables out of the car, lock your car, don’t leave your keys on a key ring or on the bench likes it’s 1980. That includes locking your homes and garages too. Make a conscious effort to do a safety check of your house and set a routine to ensure your assets are safe and secured. Go that extra mile and buy a security tin to put your keys in and hide them somewhere near you when you sleep.
3. Marcus Williamson: Army boot camps. No food if the work don’t get done. 1 pack of cigarettes and a 6 pack of beer as reward each week if they get all duty’s completed. 6 months mandatory for all stolen car offences.
4. Nigel Jones: Military service for three years
5. Glen Brown: Naming and shaming them no matter their age or ethnicity would help as we would get a true indication, not skewed statistics and the bleeding heart brigade defending them would soon be a non issue. No one is born to hate or steal; it’s a learned behaviour and we need to cut this cancer out of society. Jail is not the answer and neither is hugs and cuddles!
6. Laurie Allan: $35 combination safe screwed to the wall. Can’t steal a late model car without the keys plus you always know where the keys are!
7. Vance Clarke: Have the right to protect your own property and get rid of reasonable force clause in doing so, criminals are using the laws to protect themselves in committing these crimes. Hard working people should have the right to protect there families and property.
8. Turtle Goldsmith: How about giving the young (and old) people something to do? Qld has too many fun stifling rules. let the people have something to do. open our public land to fun stuff … motor bikes. swimming holes. rope swings. prospecting. go karts. buggies. There are no avenues for kids to have fun now days. you can’t even catch a yabbie in a creek … most have zero accessibility. land holders and lease holders just lock everything up. They need to let us share what is ours.
9. Dominic Dennis: A justice system that can determine the person committing the crime isn’t the victim. They are the product of their environment for which many reasons they do or don’t know any different but the rehabilitation in jail would help in bridging the gap of knowledge of right or wrong.
10. Jennifer Mapp: Tougher penalties. Let the owners have 10 minutes with them. Seriously they need to be held accountable. Make pay back for the car. NO EXCUSES.
11. Amy Halstead: Those who steal cars/break and enter/take property know it is illegal regardless of age or state of mind. So, no warnings, immediate jail time for five years at least. It’s gotta be something enough to make it not worth them even thinking about doing it.
12. Mark Stanger: This problem could be solved overnight if our government would just legislate mandatory 10-year minimum sentences if you are convicted of car theft. It must be taken out of judges hands. The police are doing their job. Maximum sentences don’t work.
13. Mabel Mary Moses: A kill switch under dash somewhere, once switched off vehicle won’t start.
14. Ronnie Wallace: Give parents back some power to be able to give a good old fashion flogging. NOT BASHED but a flogging that reflects the crime.
15. Matthew Calvert: Age shouldn’t be a factor when prosecuting. Do the crime. Do the time. Period
16. Emma Altmann: Child curfew! Or maybe change the laws so they actually DO get in trouble with the law.
17. Heather Dudley: Wheel locks, drastic measure plus put a tracker in your car, remove spark plugs. Security alarms on house.
18. Peter Hindle: Hidden GPS locator with its own power source so even if the vehicle battery is disconnected they still can be located.
19. James Mckeowen: Get yourself a key safe and religiously put car and house keys in overnight.
20. Nicolas Capone: A world with more compassion really ain’t going to be worse. Think little kids and bigger kids taught compassion to everyone and everything. Why don’t I go and steal I certainly want more than I have in fact I’m more than have what it takes to be a criminal BUT understand compassion to everyone and everything. We are in it together in life not against each other, which unfortunately too many do not understand this. From stolen cars to road rage and violence against woman, or again men. And all the other non nice things we do to each other and to the Trillions of animals killed unnecessarily. compassion is the way forward. There’s no quick fix to sort out the crime very likely more harsher sentences for a start. But in 10 years 15 years 20 years this problem will not end but through real effort to educate the youth into being compassionate and them seeing compassion in their lives will only lead to compassionate adults. Well maybe not every one single person however it won’t be as bad nor as worse, I’d say it would be far better.
21. Lindsay Hains: Cars should need a four-number code to start them. Apparently it is common in Europe.
22. Kylie Keioskie: Send them out on farms or stations with no internet and work to pay back the money. I had two cars wrecked in one night. Broke in found hidden keys and stole them. They need punishment. I’m still in debt even though I had insurance.
23. Laurie Farrell: For minors, it’s about time the parents are held responsible.
24. Anita Renee: Bait cars. In Melbourne police sometimes use bait cars, open cars awaiting to be stolen, when they get stolen they automatically immobilise and turn off a few minutes into the drive and the police are tracking live and grab them straight away. There is a camera in the dash that captures the whole encounter and it is televised (embarrassing them). Then word gets around that there are bait cars and people stop stealing cars because they are worried that it is a bait car.
25. Cheryl Martin: Charge the people who hide them.
26. Carolyn Everett: Better court system for repeat offenders. Repeat offenders to actually WORK for their crime. Pay for the hardship caused … wont take long sweeping hot bitumen on a hot day for them to wake up.....not to do that again. Estates have roving security and suburbs have cameras installed on street poles …(Big Brother is watching).

Stolen car dumped in the Gooseponds at North Mackay. Picture: Peter Holt / Daily Mercury

Originally published as 26 ways to prevent car theft in Mackay revealed